Tenshi no Tsubasa
by UnderdogAngel
Summary: When three English girls arrive at Ouran Academy, you know things are going to get crazy -especially when they start working in the Host Club. But one of them seems to be hiding something behind her smile. What could it be? Rated T for future chapters.
1. Getting Your Way

**Another new story! Yay! haha**

**So I started this story, oh...about a year ago, I'd say. Okay, maybe not that long, but **_**a while ago**_**. If you've read my **_**Fruits Basket**_** story, "Lovely Traces," this is a similar format -it parallels the anime, with a few tidbits from the manga. Haruhi is not in this story, and is instead replaced with three female OCs based on myself and two of my friends.**

**You may have also read my **_**Ouran**_** story "Whoever She Is". I wrote this story first, so I'm really trying to make "Whoever She Is" different from this one. Even though they both have three OCs, are about the Ouran Host Club, and parallel the anime, the inspirations for them are very different. I hope the differences between them become more distinct as the stories progress. *sweatdrop***

**The title, you ask? Yes, it does have a signifigance. **_**Tenshi no tsubasa**_** is Japanese for "angel wings" (or, more accurately, "angel's wings"). So the English title would be something like "Angel Wings". The meaning of it will be made clear as the story goes on.**

**Before we get on with this, a few mentions:**

**A big THANK YOU to EmiShae for continually prodding me to post this. It worked, my friend! You are awesome ^.^ hahaha Also thanks to the friends who inspired the OCs. If only we really could go to Ouran, eh, girls? ;)**

**Also thanks to all the readers and reviewers who've been so loyal and supportive to my other stories. I hope you all like this one just as much :)**

_**Ouran High School Host Club**_** is not mine. I own none of it. I wish, though. But it belongs to the genius _mangaka_ Bisco Hatori, and I can claim none of it.**

**Anyway, here's chapter 1. Enjoy! Let me know what you think! :)**

**-I. Getting Your Way-**

"You have to comeeee," our best friend Peggy pleaded excitedly (if that was even possible).

"Nuh-uh," I said, putting my pen and book into my bag.

"Count me out," my cousin Sarah said, tucking her pencil behind her ear.

"Why nooott?" Peggy always dragged her words out when she was trying to get us to do something.

"Aren't there better ways of spending our time?" I asked.

"Better than being entertained by six incredibly hot boys? ! Are you mad? !"

The other kids looked at us curiously. Since we were English, and English was our first language, we spoke in it more often than our second language -the language of our new home, Japanese. Since, more likely than not, none of them understood English, they were probably wondering what on earth Peggy was yelling about.

"So maybe we are mad," I replied more quitely, trying to signal her to be more quiet.

"Or just sane," Sarah said, leaning back in her chair, putting her hands up behind her head.

"Oh, come on," Peggy said. "It's just for a little while after school. I promise it won't cut into study time."

Sarah and I each raised an eyebrow.

"Look, will you at least come and check it out? At least?"

We sighed.

"Alright, fine," Sarah said, knowing Peggy wouldn't let up until we gave in.

"Yay!" She threw her arms around our necks, choking us in the process of trying to hug us. "Thank you, Kelsey! Thank you, Sarah!"

"Choking! Not breathing!" I gapsed.

"Oh, sorry!" Peggy said, releasing us.

I rubbed my neck for a moment, getting my breathing back to normal.

Sarah rolled her eyes.

Oy, I thought. Our first year of high school in Japan, and already she's gone balmy.

As I already said, Peggy, Sarah, and I were English. We'd been best friends since we were little kids. Gone through all the laughs, tears, and dramas together. Our parents were good friends, too. So, when my parents (Sarah's guardians) decided to move us to Japan, Peggy convinced her parents to move them to Japan as well. (If it isn't already obvious, Peggy usually got her way. Just one of the many things we loved about her.)

Why Sarah and my parents chose Japan is beyond me, but I think it had something to do with the fact that the two of us had aced AP Japanese/Japanese Studies back in England. Why didn't I take French first, and Sarah Spanish first, I wondered, instead of second? Then we would've gotten to live in Paris! Madrid! Not...Ouran Academy.

It was a very presitgious school. Only people who had loads of extra money lying around could afford to have their children attend. Not that Peggy's and Sarah's and my families were super-rich, but we'd somehow had enough money to come to Ouran. I had never liked public school, and neither had Sarah, so I guess our parents decided we needed a change.

The one drawback was the uniforms. The guys' uniforms were fine: black slacks, black shoes, white button-up collared shirt, light blue blazer (with the school crest on it), and a darker blue tie. I wouldn't have minded wearing them. (I often wore them on the weekends, as did Sarah. Ties, I mean, not the guys' uniforms.)

The girls' uniforms, on the other hand, were as follows: brown shoes, white tights, yellow long-sleeved dress (with full skirt and high collar), and a dark pink ribbon tied in a bow under the collar. Not that I didn't like dresses. I just felt like a total loon in _that_ dress.

Sarah expressed once every week how much she hated those dresses. She had pages and pages of sketches on how she would make them much more awesome. Peggy and I were tempted to actually try some of them, but we were all too afraid to talk to our parents. (It wasn't like we wanted to seem ungrateful; after all, we loved Japan.)

"I swear," I said as we walked down the hall to our next class, "give me jeans and a T-shirt over this any day."

"Same here," Sarah said.

I tugged at my collar and Peggy chuckled. "Well, you'd probably get mistaken for a boy if you wore the boy's uniform, Kels! Remember when that happened back home?"

"Twice!" I said, and we laughed.

My hair had once been to the middle of my back -long and thick. Then I'd cut it off, about chin-lenght, and I had gotten mistaken for a boy a few times. I guess guys wearing skinny jeans was becoming more and more common.

I adjusted my glasses on my nose and tucked a strand of hair behind my ear. My hair had grown out since then, and I intended to keep it that way. What with a new school and a new town, I didn't want to be mistaken for a boy in my off-hours. What sport they would make of that, I thought. As if I don't have enough to worry about without gender confusion.

**;;;;;**

The rest of the day sped by, and how I wished it would've just slowed down. I was already regretting our agreement to go with Peggy to her latest endeavor. I really had no interest in boys (mostly because all the ones I had ever known had been idiotic blokes who couldn't tell their heads from a hole in the ground), so why would hanging out with six "incredibly hot" boys who had no interest in incredibly average me be of even the remotest interest? Well, Peggy clearly thought otherwise. It seemed Sarah was even considering possibilities in this as well.

"Come on!" Peggy urged, jumping up from her seat and grabbing our arms as soon as the bell rang.

"Whoa! Slow down!" I planted my feet on the marble floor, as did Sarah, and that slowed Peggy a little.

Peggy looked back at us. I looked from her, to my arm, and back again. She smiled and released her hold on me.

"Thank you," I said, rubbing my wrist.

"What about me?" Sarah asked.

"Oh, right," Peggy said, as if just realizing that there were two of us she was holding onto.

"Can we at least go put our bags in our lockers?" Sarah asked.

"Of course!" Peggy said. "That's where I was going to take us first, anyway."

"Uh-huh, sure," I said.

At Ouran, a locker was more than just a little metal square screwed into the wall in between a bunch of others just like it. At Ouran, your locker was about five and a half feet tall and two feet wide. Just a _tad_ bigger than the lockers we'd had back in London.

I spun in the combination that I already had memorized, opened the locker (that I could have, to be honest, fit in), put my bag in, and closed the door again. Sarah did the same. We barely had time to clear the locks before Peggy took our arms and set off down the hall again.

I looked at the signs above the doors we passed, wondering where we were going to stop. Apparently, it was at the end of the northern hallway, top floor of the south wing.

"Ah, here we go!" Peggy said excitedly.

Music Room 3, huh? I thought wonderingly, looking at the sign above the big wood doors.

Sarah put a hand on her hip. "Hmm," she hummed. "Looks promising so far."

"Why?" I asked. "Because it's a music room? Just because we love music doesn't make a music room safe!"

"Kelsey, when will you learn that anything having to do with music cannot be evil?"

Before I had even the tiniest chance to try to prove Sarah wrong, or protest going inside and make up some mediocre excuse to go home, Peggy swung the doors open on the music room.

When we looked inside, the other reason I didn't take a huge interest in boys moved from the back of my mind right up to the front, screaming, "Because you're shy around new people! Because you usually don't talk much around new people! Then people think you're being rude and don't want to talk to you!"

Standing in front of us were six of the most handsome- no, _the_ six most handsome boys I had ever seen. I scanned over each of them, recognizing some and mentally kicking myself for being oblivious of the existence of others.

The tallest was standing on the far left. His hands were in his pockets, and he looked very serious. He had short, spiked black hair, which looked both messy and styled at the same time. Messy style, I thought. I thought I saw Sarah looking him up and down, but I was probably just seeing things.

Sitting on his shoulders was the smallest of the group, a blonde boy holding a stuffed pink bunny, who looked like he was about ten, but who I knew was a third-year. I also knew that the tall, black-haired boy was his cousin, but, for the life of me, could not remember their names.

Standing next to them was another black-haired boy, but his hair was brushed down. Silver-rimmed glasses sat on his nose, and he held a pen in one hand, and a black notebook in the other. Interesting, I thought.

Next to him was a pair of red-haired boys -twins. The only difference I could see right off was that their hair was parted differently, but I was sure there was more than that. I was also sure that they were in a class or two of mine. They were certainly in our year, I was sure of that.

Peggy's eyes widened at the twins, and I rolled my eyes. She was much more obvious than Sarah.

Seated in the middle of these five boys was a blonde boy, one of his arms propped up on the chair's armrest, his cheek resting on his fist.

My heart skipped a beat. Why is he the only one sitting? I wondered, ignoring the fact that my heart was acting all wonky.

"Welcome, ladies," they said in unison.

My heart skipped another beat, and I reminded myself to remember my Japanese.

"Ah, a returning customer," one of the twins said, both of them smiling at Peggy.

She giggled.

"Right this way, miss," the other twin said.

They stepped forward, extending an arm each to her.

She put one of her hands in each, and they swept her away before I could even begin to plead with her not to leave us. Alone. With all the people we didn't know. When the two of us were the shyest people on the planet.

Why, oh, why did we come? I wondered. Now I'll just stand here looking like an idiot next to my totally awesome, artsy cousin.

Yet another thing people can pick about: My anti-social nature.

And with this awkward moment, we had ventured into the strange new world of the Ouran High School Host Club.

**Chapter 2 will be coming very soon, because I've found with a LOT of my stories that the first chapter really isn't enough to get the ball rolling. In the meantime, let me know your thoughts! :) Thanks for reading!**


	2. Introductions

**As promised, here's chapter 2! If you're reading and liking the story, I'd really like to know! Reviews really make my day, and encourage me to update more (and faster!). ****Thanks to those of you who are reading!**

**AH ALISHA! Thank you so much for reviewing! XD Glad you like it so much! :DD OH NOES NOT DAH INNER MIKAMI O.O Fear not! For here is Chapter 2!**

**Anywhoo, thanks, you readers and reviewers! Enjoy chapter 2!**

**-II. Introductions-**

My face turned more and more red with every second that we stood alone, off to the side of everything else, just watching.

I thought that the Host Club was an interesting place, even as nervous as I was. It seemed that the girls would come to the Host Club, pick their favoriet host, and then get a chance to sit and talk with him for a time. Okay, so it wasn't exactly sitting and talking. It was more like the guys getting the girls all excited and the girls swooning over them. I raised an eyebrow at it. Didn't the girls get jealous that the hosts were making eyes at so many other girls besides them?

If that didn't make sense, sorry. I don't make sense a lot of the time.

I looked over at Peggy and realized why the twins were her favorite: A little thing called "brotherly love," if you catch my drift.

I saw Sarah's eyes widen in shock, and she looked at me. I looked back and shook my head. What kind of place is this? I wondered. There's "twincest" with those two, the third-year acts like a ten-year-old, that one with the glasses is always writing things down, the really tall one -that Sarah likes- hardly says a word, and that blonde one-

"Ladies?"

I yelped and we both spun around to find the blonde boy I'd been thinking about standing behind us. I mean, uh, I wasn't thinking about him like that! I was just wondering about- Yeah, I'm just gonna shut up now.

The boy smiled and laughed softly. "I noticed that you two were standing over here by yourselves, and I felt obliged to come see to you, since you are first-time customers."

He's so polite, I thought. I thought chivarly was supposed to be dead. And his glances and looks look so pure. Not mischevious like those twins. Just...sweet.

"Allow me to introduce myself," he said. He took Sarah's hand and bowed low. "My name is Tamaki Suoh." He gently kissed her hand, and then did the same to me.

My heart started racing.

He looked up and smiled at me.

Sarah laughed softly.

"What are your names, dear princesses?"

My name? I wondered. What _is_ my name?

"Sarah Bennet," she said, not even skipping a beat.

Show off, I thought, giving her a look. "K-Kelsey Bennet," I said.

"Sisters?" he asked.

"Cousins," Sarah said.

"Ah, you're English, am I right?"

"Yes," I said, both Sarah and I a little surprised.

"From what part of the United Kingdom do you come from?"

"London," I said, my nervousness subsiding slightly.

"You surprise me," he said.

"How?" I asked.

"That you speak Japanese so well."

"Oh," I said. "We...took it in middle school, and became fluent, so..."

He smiled at me again, and I suddenly became aware that he was still holding onto my hand. I looked down at our hands, then back at him. He just smiled again. His eyes...they were so different. So blue, they were almost purple. (On the other hand, mine were so blue, they were almost green. Go figure.)

I looked up, expecting to see Sarah smirking at my embarrassment, but she'd drifted off to where the tall, black-haired guy and the little blonde one were sitting.

Get back over here! I yelled in my head, trying to reach her through cousin-telepathy. It wasn't working. Way to leave me all alone while I'm drowning over here, I thought.

She smiled at me, almost as if she had heard me, and I shook my head at her.

"Would you like to come sit with me, princess? Maybe have some refreshments?"

I snapped my head back, remembering where I was. I glanced over at Peggy, swooning and enjoying herself with the twins. And Sarah didn't seem any worse for wear. Well, I thought, as long as we're here...

"O-okay," I said, then wondered why I was still stuttering.

He smiled again. Seems like a very positive, happy person, I thought. I had yet to find out just _how_ positive, but I digress.

"This being your first time to the Host Club, I imagine you have a lot of questions," he said, laughing a little.

"You guessed right," I said. Oh, _now_ you stop stuttering, I thought dryly. "First of all...those two?" I asked, pointing at the twins.

"Those are the Hitachiin twins," he said. "They're in your year, if I've guessed right."

I nodded.

"Hikaru and Kaoru," he continued. "Certainly a mischievous pair."

"And...? The whole...?"

He laughed a little. "Don't tell any of the other guests, but it's just an act. Yes, they are very close, but not _that_ close."

I nodded. Mischievous indeed, I thought. "And the two third-years?"

"Oddly enough, the ones that your cousin is with are, in fact, cousins," he said. "The smaller one inhaling that piece of cake-" He, indeed, was at that moment. "-is Mitsukuni Haninozuka. The quiet, tall one watching over him is Takashi Morinozuka. Everyone calls them 'Honey' and 'Mori' for short."

I'll never understand Japanese names, I thought.

"And our co-founder is right..." Tamaki looked around, scanning the room for the last boy. "...right there. He keeps this place running for us all. Kyoya Ohtori."

"Co-founder?" I asked. "But who's-?" I stopped and looked at Tamaki.

He laughed a little. "Yes, I'm the other founder of the Host Club."

I should've known, I thought. "We didn't have this sort of thing back in London," I said, taking a sip of tea from the cup in front of me.

"I should hope not," Tamaki said. "I intend to hold the patent on this kind of club."

I laughed and he smiled.

"Tama-chaaan!" Honey called. We looked over the back of the couch at him. He was sitting at a table, cakes all around him. "Look at all the cakes!" He giggled. "Usa-chan and I are gonna eat 'em all!"

"That's wonderful, Honey-senpai," Tamaki said.

I turned back around and held in a yelp. I had turned to find Honey standing in front of me.

"Hi!" he said happily. "I haven't met you before! What's your name?"

"Uh, I'm...Kelsey," I said.

He giggled again.

Something is wrong with this boy, I thought. Very wrong.

"Kelsa-chan!" He laughed and jumped up to hug me.

Uh, okay, I thought.

Mori stood nearby, watching Honey. Silently, of course.

Sarah smirked at me and I gave her a look.

"Do you want some cake, Kelsa-chan? There's a whole bunch to choose from! Come on! Sarah-chan was just telling us about you!"

He grabbed my hand and pulled me up off the couch and over to the table. His strength surprised me. Small packages, I thought.

"Well, um," I said, "thank you, but I'm not really one for sweets..."

Honey's eyes got big, and he looked up at me, sniffling. "You mean...you don't want any?"

Sarah jutted her lip out in a fake pout. She wasn't helping, but... He was just too cute. How could I say no?

"Alright, I'll have a piece."

"Yay!" Honey said, jumping up and down.

Strange, I thought.

"Honey-senpai, why do you do that?" Tamaki asked, practically scolding him. "You can't use your cuteness to steal away my guests!"

Honey hugged Usa-chan and giggled.

"Don't giggle in that adorable, Lolita-type way! It won't work on me!"

Sarah and I laughed a little. I don't know why we found it funny that Tamaki was irked, but we did nonetheless.

"Hey, haven't we..." "...seen you two in some of our classes?"

I looked up to see Hikaru and Kaoru leaning on the back of the chair I was sitting in (I had yet to determine which was which).

"I...think so," I said.

"Yeah, she's Kelsey Bennet, Hikaru," the one on my left said. "And she's Sarah Bennet."

"They always sit in the back, Kaoru," the one on my right said. "Drawing and writing."

"Why is that?" they asked together, leaning down closer.

"Uh- Um- I-" I stuttered, feeling my face get hot.

They smirked.

Sarah rolled her eyes. "Uh, maybe 'cause we want to?" she offered, snapping a little.

"Hikaru! Kaoru! Leave these poor young ladies alone!" Tamaki yelled at them.

"Aw, boss, we were just..." "...having some fun with a couple classmates."

It seemed they liked finishing each other's sentences. Probably one of those twin-telepathy things.

"I will not have you corrupting them!"

I felt another laugh coming on, but managed to hold it in.

"Tamaki, calm down," Kyoya said, not looking up from his notebook. (Actually it was more like a legal pad, but, again, I digress.) "It's their first time at the Host Club. Let them settle in. And don't scare them off."

"When have I ever scared anyone off, Kyoya? When? WHEN? ! You tell me that!"

I let out a quiet chuckle, but I didn't want to laugh too loud, for fear it would offend them.

"So, how's it going?" Peggy asked quietly as Kyoya and Tamaki went on with their arguement. It was really Tamaki who was doing the arguing, but anyway...

We looked at the four boys, all watching their leaders. "I think we may be in over our heads."

**;;;;;**

We left shortly after that. I knew my parents would worry if we weren't home soon.

We waved goodbye to the hosts as we left, thanking them.

"No, dear princesses, thank you," Tamaki replied, smiling.

"See you three..." "...in class," Hikaru and Kaoru said, and winked.

"Hikaru! Kaoru! Stop with all that winking!"

"Aw, boss..."

Only when we were out of earshot did Sarah and I let all our pent-up laughter out.

"What?" Peggy asked.

I shook my head, waiting for a moment to catch my breath.

"They- They..." I laughed again, cutting Sarah off.

"Wow, they are such _idiots_!" I said.

We all laughed.

"Yeah, they kind of are...well, not all of them, but some of them. But they're totally awesome once you get to know them. And hilarious," Peggy said. She nudged my arm with her elbow. "Seems like you and Tama-chan were getting pretty cozy over there before Honey-senpai broke it up."

"Yeah, I noticed that, too," Sarah said.

I blushed a little but shook it off. "We were just...talking. He asked about where I was from, and I asked about the Host Club. Simple as that."

And I'll bet he calls every girl that requests him "princess," I thought.

**3_3_3_3_3**

"Why were you flirting with her so much? Huh? Huh?" Tamaki demanded of Hikaru and Kaoru.

"It's sort of what we do," Hikaru said.

"We _are_ in a Host Club, after all," Kaoru said.

"The act is to flirt with EACH OTHER!" Tamaki shouted.

The twins rolled their eyes at him, which just made him even more angry.

"Tamaki, did you ever stop to think that they were flirting with her and her cousin because it's their _job_?" Kyoya asked.

"Yeah, Tama-chan," Honey said, looking up at Tamaki and clutching Usa-chan to his chest. "Isn't that what the Host Club is about? Entertaining girls?"

Tamaki sighed, looking down at Honey. "I suppose you're right, Honey-senpai."

Honey smiled widely at this knowledge of his being right.

But something had been stirred up in Tamaki by this new guest. He sensed something was different about her, but that she was shy, and hiding herself from them.

"Well," he said determinedly, "I think we can all agree that we must all do our best to make Kelsey and Sarah feel at home in the Host Club."

"I know I wanna see Kelsa-chan and Sarah-chan again!" Honey said happily. "And I was happy to see Peggy-chan here again today!"

Tamaki laughed softly at Honey's nicknames for them.

"Yeah," was all Mori said (not exactly unusual).

"You can count on us, boss to do everything _we_ can..." "...to make them feel at home," Hikaru and Kaoru said.

"Oh, no, you will not!" Tamaki snapped in reply.

The twins smirked mischievously.

"You did say _all_ of us, boss," Hikaru said.

"That means Hikaru and I, too," Kaoru said.

Tamaki looked about ready to boil over.

"Idiots," Kyoya muttered, pushing his glasses up on his nose.

Tamaki gasped, fled to the nearest corner, and proceeded to sulk in it. The rest of the Host Club looked after him, sighing.

"Tama-chan..." Honey said.

Kyoya rolled his eyes, repeating his previous phrase. "Idiot." But adding a different one in his head. _Moron._

Don't get Tamaki and Kyoya wrong. They are friends. It's just that Tamaki is a bit more emotional, helpful, caring, and less calculating than Kyoya is more than half of the time. Their personalities were just different. Isn't everyone's?

The Ohtori's were a very prominent family in Japan. They built hospitals, owned resorts... They were very wealthy. Kyoya was the third son, which put him in an interesting position. Being the youngest son, he could never take on the family business. That was left to the oldest brother. Kyoya was always trying to prove himself to his father.

And Honey may have looked small and helpless, but he wasn't. His family, the Haninozukas, were known for their martial arts prowess. The Morinozukas, long ago, had been servants of the Haninozuka family for many generations, and were united by marriage a few generations before Honey and Mori came along. Even though he wasn't his servant any more, Mori still felt protective of Honey. Mori wasn't without martial arts skills either, but he looked more the part than Honey. Mori was the definition of the "strong, silent" type. He hardly ever spoke, but wasn't shy. It was just that he spoke only when he felt it was necessary. In this way, he observed a lot.

Onto the twins. Hikaru and Kaoru's mother was a fashion designer, which made them very fashion conscious. It also made the latest fashions avaliable to them. Up until they had joined the Host Club, they had been off in their own little world, convinced that they didn't need anyone besides each other. In the Host Club, they had opened up a lot, and had been able to talk _to_ people instead of talking _down_ to them. Their favorite game to play was the "Which One Is Hikaru? Game". Hardly anyone ever won (not that the twins would say anything if they did).

Hikaru was a bit more mischevious-looking than Kaoru, but both loved to get their kicks from the embarassment of others. Hikaru had a quick temper, and often showed his anger in quick outbursts. Kaoru was a little more tranquil, trying to get Hikaru to calm down instead of watching him blow up. Sometimes they still felt like they were in their own world, and they were just waiting for someone to climb over the walls.

Last, but not least, Tamaki Suoh, the self-proclaimed "king" of the Host Club. He could be an idiot, and he could be annoying, but his intentions were good. He could also seem self-absorbed and a bit of a narcissist, but he showed his close friends that he wasn't really like that. When you got right down to it, he didn't care about himself very much at all. He really, truly cared for others. He felt that the Host Club was sort of a family, not just a club. His family, like the rest of the members of the Host Club, was wealthy as well. His father was the chairman of the board of Ouran Academy, if that's any indication of how rich he was. Also, like our heroines, he was not Japan-born. He was born in France, and lived there until he was fourteen. The story behind his birth and moving to Japan, and the status he held in his family, are yet to be revealed.

Chapter 3 is next! In the words of the Host Club, "We'll see you then!"


	3. Me Casa

**AHH! Okay, finals are over, the semester's done, and that tells you why I'm so late with this update! My bad, readers! But now that school's over for a whole MONTH, I will have more time to update and to write ^.^**

**BondSlave (a.k.a. Alisha): HAHA! Awww :3 Thank you so much! I like writing humor, but sometimes feel like it's forced or that I'm not too good at it. So thank you for the encouragement! *thumbs-up* HA I feel giddy and fangirly LOTS of times throughout the day. It's sort of sad, really XD Hahaha! i'm not quite sure how else to write him, so I'm glad he comes off princely! xD Epic? :'D Thank you so much! *tackle-glomp* EE! So happy that you like this story! Love you!**

**And thanks to anyone else out there who's reading this. If you like it, let me know! I'd like to know your thoughts ^.^**

**Anywhoo, on with Chapter 3! Sort of a shorter one, but these beginning chapters sort of have to get the introductions out of the way, and I don't want to inundate you with mental pictures or whatever. Hope you like it! ^.^**

**-III. Me Casa-**

That evening, I sat on my bed in my pajamas (so happy to have gotten out of my uniform) working on my English homework. I shook the black and white beaded bracelet on my left wrist down my arm and sighed. The assignment was to diagram some sentences. I loved English. But I hated diagramming sentences. I closed the book and set it back on my desk. I had another couple days before the assignment was due, so I decided that I'd work on it later.

Sarah knocked on my door and came in a moment later. "Did you try that diagramming thing?"

I nodded.

"Did you give up?"

I nodded.

She chucked her books back down the hall towards her room. "Then I don't feel so guilty about giving up." She flopped down across the edge of my bed, looking at the ceiling.

I lay down next to her, looking up as well.

Like I said before, our family wasn't wealthy. I wasn't exactly sure why they'd spent all the money to move us halfway across the globe. Though they had hinted at the fact that they wanted to put us somewhere where we could use our Japanese to the fullest extent, instead of for just conversing with the sushi chef who had the shop down the street.

I rolled onto my stomach and looked out the window, the darkening sky absolutely clear and every star visible. Not that I disliked the stars, but I sort of missed the gray, overcast skies of London. That chill in the air that warned of rain. Running from awning to awning on the days you forgot your umbrella and giggling like avoiding the rain when you were already soaked was the most fun game in the world. I guess I missed the little things the most.

But there was one thing I certainly didn't miss: our old public school with its queen bees and jerky jocks whose only interests were themselves and the rest of the "pretty people." I figured that they could all go jump off a cliff, for all I cared.

But Japan -Ouran Academy- was different. The most handsome and the most beautiful did not look down on everyone else, thinking they were better. Everyone treated everyone with respect, and they were all so kind, as far as I could see. Maybe I was just giving them the benefit of the doubt, but I could usually read people pretty well.

Moving from the view outside to the view inside, let me tell you about our house. It wasn't monstrous, but it had more than enough room for the four of us. I had no idea where our parents had gotten the money to buy this place, but they'd gotten it somewhere. It was three stories (which I know sounds big...okay, so maybe the house was a _little_ big).

The first floor had all the basics (kitchen, dining room, living room, etc.), including the master bedroom. The second floor (top floor) was ours. Yes, a whole floor. I really didn't think that we needed that much space, but I think our parents were trying to make it up to us, since we had seemed less than enthusiastic about moving to Japan, away from our best friend. But then our best friend ended up coming, too, so that made it better.

The third floor (which was under the first floor) was the helpers' quarters. We didn't like calling them servants. It made us feel like ladies from the middle ages or something. I mean, they didn't dress us or make our beds or anything. They just helped keep the house in order, and did some cooking occasionally when Mum and Dad were out.

Our floor consisted of five parts: My bedroom, Sarah's bedroom, our (extensive) bathrooms, and a game room.

My bedroom felt like something out of a castle from one of Shakespeare's plays. Up against the right wall was a big, four-postered bed, big enough for at least three people. The comforter that covered it was a mix of black and white designs all sewed together. Our parents had made sure it was the same design as the one I'd had back home, and, after a few nights, it smelled just like the one I'd had back home. It made me feel more at home in my huge, spacious room.

To the right of the door was a wooden desk that was supposed to be used for schoolwork, but that rarely had such a purpose. It was covered with catalogs and books and letters and all sorts of things. I still had a space in the middle where I could set my laptop and write, but I usually did that on my bed. Rarely did any work get done at that desk. On the right side of the desk was my iHome, my little dinosaur of an iPod plugged into it. (It was a second generation nano. I'd gotten it for my thirteenth birthday.)

Looking from my desk, across my bed, and to the other side of the room, there was a big window taking the place of the wall. Underneath the window was a long, padded windowseat, perfect for sitting and looking at the stars or the rain. From that window, I had a perfect view of the gardens behind the house. They were so beautiful, and we often went walking in them at night.

Turning left from the windows to the wall across from my bed, a door was visible in the corner. This door led to my bathroom. Looking left from the door, a giant, flat-screen TV hung on the wall. Another gift, I guess, to make up for my initial unhappiness.

Decorating the wall behind the TV, instead of paint, was a big, black and white picture mural of London at night. I could see the Eye, Big Ben, a double-decker bus, everything that reminded me of home. The rest of the walls alternated red and black - the colors that also reminded me of London. Pictures were pinned to the wall above my desk on a big corkboard square. Black and white pictures of other city streets adorned the remaining walls. A couple, though, that weren't black and white were some of my favorites. They were taken of cars flying down highways, the camera set on a low shutter speed. The lights seemed to go on forever, as if in great projection from the cars' headlights or tailights.

We loved the city. The neverending streams of cars, the lights, the hustle and bustle... This living in the country, with all its peace and quiet and fresh air, was going to drive us out of our minds.

Sarah's room was similar in the fact that it was red and black, but, instead of alternating-colored walls, hers were all red. The molding around the tops and bottoms of the walls, and the doors and door frames were all black. Her walls were covered with posters of bands and quotes and things. Her bed was a big four-poster, too, but her sheets were a different pattern of black and white than mine. Having grown up together, and being only six months apart in age, we'd practically been raised as twins, so we had a lot of similar interests.

Her desk, very similar to mine, was much more organized. Her iHome, lamp, and neat stack of books were all perfectly arranged. She had plenty of room to work on it. I sometimes envied her neatness, but then other times was happy I was slightly messy.

Instead of one large window, like I had, Sarah had three smaller ones. Instead of looking out on the gardens, hers looked out on the surrounding countryside. On the night of a full moon, it looked just like daylight out there. We loved looking at it, and often talked about going out there at night, though we were also worried about what was out there. You never could tell around there.

Sarah also had a flat-screen in her room, and the wall behind it was blank. No posters, no nothing. Just red paint. She said it was her blank canvas. She had drawings and drawings of what she wanted to do with it, but never could seem to find the right one. Having a creative mind myself, I understood her frustration. But, being impatient, I also wished that she would paint the dang wall already.

I heard a familiar bleeping, and Sarah picked up the TV remote, pressing the CALL button.

Peggy's face appeared on the screen. "Heyyyy," she said happily.

"Hiiiii," we replied, sitting up.

"Whatcha up to?" she asked.

"Made an attempt at English, but gave up," Sarah said.

"How about you?" I asked.

"Just finished my Biology homework. Ugh, you two are so lucky you already took it."

We laughed.

"I loved Biology! What are you talking about?" Sarah asked.

Peggy just rolled her eyes.

We often talked this way, instead of on the phone, or even seeing each other in person. I mean, we lived two miles from each other, but I guess we were just too lazy to bike or walk to each other's houses. Besides, using technology was so much more fun!

"Are you parents home tonight?" Peggy asked.

"Yep," I said.

"Did they wonder why you were late coming home from school?"

"They haven't asked about it, yet," Sarah said. "But I'm sure they will at dinner."

Peggy chuckled.

"Your parents don't wonder?" I asked.

"Are you kidding? As long as they know we're okay, they're fine," Peggy said.

"So even if you jumped on a jet back to London?" I asked.

Peggy laughed and we shook our heads, smiling.

"You know my parents. They're pretty easy-going," Peggy said.

"I sure hope our parents are the same regarding the Host Club," I said.

"I'm sure they will be," Peggy said.

"I mean, it's not like we were hanging out at a brothel or anything."

We all burst out laughing, rolling around on our beds.

"I think all our parents would die if that happened," Sarah gasped.

"I know, right?" Peggy cried, still laughing.

Our laughter subsided, and I heard Mum calling us. "Cricket! Bumblebee! Come down for dinner!"

"Coming, Mum!" we called.

"Talk to you later, Pegs," I said.

"Okay. Enjoy dinner! I love you two!"

"We love you too! Bye!"

"Bye!"

I hit the CALL button again, then we stood, heading out of my room.

We walked out into the hall, past my bathroom, and to the end of the hall. Instead of a big flight of stairs, the staircase to our floor was a small, metal one, sprialing from the main floor to our little sanctum. Okay, big sanctum, but you get the idea.

"Have you ever wondered why Mum calls us insects as nicknames?" (Yes, Sarah referred to my mum as her mum. It was only natural, seeing as how she'd lived with us since she was a year old. And, yes, our mother had given us the nicknames of insects -I Cricket and Sarah Bumblebee.)

I shrugged and shook my head. "I think she once told me that it was because we were cute, like little bugs."

She raised an eyebrow.

"Yeah, I don't know."

We skipped into the dining room, taking our places across from our parents as Mai, the cook's assisstant, set plates of spaghetti (with marinara sauce, of course -can't have meatballs when I'm a vegetarian!) in front of us. Being born in London didn't just make us English. Dad's family was Italian, and Mum's was Eastern European. Sarah was a little more Spanish than I was, because of her mum, but still. We were the product of many European countries: Italy, Holland, Germany, Spain, France, Ireland, Scotland, and I'm sure many others. And loving certain foods was just a show of our heritages. Spaghetti was an excellent example of that.

"So, how was school today?" Dad asked as I slurped in a noodle.

Sarah laughed a little and I wiped my mouth.

"Good, Dad," I said.

"Keeping your grades up?"

"Doing the very best we can," Sarah said.

"What did you two and Peggy do after school today, Cricket? Bumblebee?"

Dad looked at Mum, as if sending a silent message that said, "I thought we were going to ask about that gently."

We laughed softly, reading our parents so clearly.

"Nothing," I said.

"Peggy...showed us...this group that she discovered at school," Sarah said.

They looked at us curiously.

"A...group?" Dad asked.

"Sort of like a...club," I said.

"Oh," they said together, quietly.

"What is the name of this club?" Mum asked.

I shifted a little uncomfortably in my seat.

Sarah gave me a look, telling me to stop.

"Um...The Ouran High School Host Club," I said quietly.

Unfortunately, they heard me.

"Host Club?" Dad asked. "Must be a new thing these kids have come up with."

We looked at them.

He turned to Mum. "I don't remember having anything like that back in high school, do you, dear?"

"No," she said, taking a sip of wine from her glass.

"Well, so long as you have fun in this...club," Dad said warily.

"And so long as you're being safe," Mum said.

We just nodded and stuffed some garlic bread in our mouths to avoid further discussion of what exactly a Host Club was.

What would they do if they knew it was an "entertainment" club, where young ladies are entertained by young men? I wondered. They'd probably get the wrong impression and complain to the principal or whoever is in a position of power at Ouran. I sighed as I sat back down on my bed, Sarah gone on to her room.

To paraphrase a line I once heard in an American movie, Mum, Dad, I don't think we're in London anymore.


	4. Response

**Wow, so I do I not know how to update or what? *sad face* I'm so sorry, readers! *bows repeatedly* I am so sorry for the late update! Time really got away from me over break... Now I'm back to my second semester, and I can get back to routine -which means more updates!**

**Let's not wait another moment, yes? Thank you to those of you who are reading and reviewing (BondSlave, EmiShae, and Soul'sgirl14)! Here's chapter 4!**

**-IV. Response-**

After having seen who had been at the Host Club the day before, we realized that it must've been a pretty popular, um...attraction for the girls in our class. We could point out at least ten girls in every single one of our classes who had been there the day before, and sometimes there were more than ten.

Also upon looking around, I noticed that Hikaru and Kaoru were in almost all of our classes. How had I not noticed that before? Well, Peggy was very excited when I pointed out that they were in most of our classes, and I wondered how she had not noticed, seeing as how she was so infatuated with them. Sarah and I didn't see the appeal of their "brotherly love," but I guess most of the girls found that oh-so dreamy.

"You're coming again today, right?" Peggy asked hopefully at lunch.

We shrugged.

"Didn't you have a good time? Kelsey, I mean, I saw you and Tamaki-sen-"

"But it's fake," I said quietly, interrupting her.

Silence fell over the them, and it was almost as if we'd been enclosed in a bubble. The noise around us was coming from outside this bubble. Muffled, garbled.

"Like he really cares. Any of them."

Peggy looked like I had just told her I'd murdered someone.

Sarah looked shocked as well, but not as shocked as Peggy.

"They're not robots, love," Peggy said, putting a hand on my arm. "They _do_ have feelings. That's why they started this club."

"Or did they just do it for the heck of it?" I crumpled up my paper bag and stood, leaving the table.

"Are you alright?" Sarah asked, following along behind, Peggy on her heels.

I stopped outside the cafeteria and sighed. Why am I even saying these things? I wondered. I was only in there for an hour. It's not like I have a crush on any of them. I just...have to wonder...what they get out of it.

"Come on," Peggy said, putting her hand on my arm. "You can sit with Honey-senpai today. That will cheer you up."

I thought for a moment. "Okay," I sighed.

Then the bell rang, and we went off to our next class.

I couldn't be sure, but I thought I saw a pair of red-haired boys and a blonde-haired boy disappear around the corner into the lunchroom when I glanced over my shoulder. Great, I thought, now I'm hallucinaing.

**3_3_3_3_3**

Tamaki looked after Kelsey as she stood from her table and left the cafeteria. He sensed that something was wrong, and wanted to go ask. But he held back, reminding himself that he'd only just met her, and that he wasn't really close enough to her to go and see what was wrong.

"Hey, boss."

He cried out and jumped out of his seat, startled by the twins' sudden appearance at his sides. "Hikaru! Kaoru!" he scolded. "Don't do that!"

"Sorry, boss," Hikaru said.

"We just saw you looking at Kelsey," Kaoru said.

"How do you know her name?" Tamaki asked.

They looked at each other, then back at Tamaki.

"Uh, boss," Hikaru said. "She was at the club yesterday, and she's in most of our classes."

"We know her better than you do," Kaoru said.

This struck Tamaki like the shock from sticking your finger in an electrical outlet. It was all he could do not to collapse to the ground.

"You want us to go see what's wrong?" they asked, moving towards the door.

"No! You idiots!" Tamaki grabbed their collars and pulled them back next to him. "That's what her best friends are for."

The twins looked at each other. "Peggy and Sarah," they said in unison.

They looked back at Tamaki as he said, "Now, you two leave her alone. You're not her friends."

They smiled mischeviously. "Not yet, we're not..." They bolted out of Tamaki's grasp.

"Get back here, you two!" he shouted, running after them.

He stopped just behind Hikaru and Kaoru, who were peeking out into the empty hallway.

"Come on," Peggy said, putting her hand on Kelsey's arm. "You can sit with Honey-senpai today. That will cheer you up."

Tamaki felt his heart sink a little.

"Okay," Kelsey sighed.

The bell rang, and the trio pulled back into the lunchroom, hoping they hadn't been seen.

A million questions ran through Tamaki's mind, but he said none of them out loud. And most of them had to do with the conversations he and Kelsey had had in the Host Club the afternoon before.

He wondered if he'd said something wrong. He wondered if he'd offended her or hurt her feelings. He wondered what she was feeling down about. The wonderings just kept coming.

"You alright, boss?" Hikaru asked.

"I'm sure she didn't mean anything by it," Kaoru assured.

Tamaki smiled, playing it off like it was nothing. "It's a woman's prerogative to change her mind, gentlemen," he said. "Now, let's get to our classes before we're late."

Hikaru and Kaoru looked at each other and shrugged, heading to their own class. They knew something was off with the boss, but they knew that, if they asked, he would either redirect the question or go to his "corner of woe." If he did, in fact, go to his "corner of woe," there would be no getting through to him. Either way, the twins were at a loss for answers.

So, they decided, we'll go right to the source.

**3_3_3_3_3**

I was leaving my second to last class of the day, when I suddenly found the door blocked -by a pair of someones, actually. I looked up at Hikaru and Kaoru.

They grinned down at me.

"Excuse me," I said. "I'm going to be late for class."

They didn't move.

I sighed. "Is there...something you wanted from me?"

"So glad you asked," the one on my left said.

"You must answer this question correctly to get to your next class," the one on my right said.

At that moment, I noticed a difference in their voices. I knew there had to be a difference besides their hair. Oy, I thought, wondering what question they could possibly ask me.

"It's time to play...the 'Which One Is Hikaru?' game!"

I didn't even think about it. "Hikaru," I said, pointing at the one on my right, "and Kaoru," I said, pointing to the one on my left. "Can I go now?"

They were looking at me incredulously, but let me pass.

I looked over my shoulder to find them following me. "Is...everything okay?" I asked.

"You've...never really talked to us before," Kaoru said.

"How did you know who was who?" Hikaru asked.

Were they actually saying that I'd gotten it right? "Don't you guys have a class to go to?" I asked.

They shook their heads.

I sighed. "There really are quite a few differences in you two," I said, then shrugged. "I'm just good at reading people, I guess."

They stopped walking and I turned to look at them.

"So, um..." Hikaru started.

"...are you coming? Today?" Kaoru finished.

I smiled a little and nodded. "Sure I am. See you later."

What on earth, I wondered, was that all about? Is it really that hard to tell them apart?

**3_3_3_3_3**

"Tamaki."

Tamaki looked back at Ayanokoji, smiling apologetically. "Sorry, princess. Did you say something?"

She chuckled, tucking a strand of her long red-brown hair behind her ear. "You seem very interested in that new girl, Tamaki."

He merely looked at her, trying to keep calm.

"You do know she's..._poor_, don't you? Her and that...very strange cousin of hers."

"Really, princess," he said cordially, "does a person's wealth matter?"

"It does here," she said.

Tamaki glanced over his shoulder at Kelsey again, but reminded himself that he had a guest to entertain.

"You don't want a commoner, Tamaki." She leaned closer. "You want a princess, don't you?"

Tamaki suddenly felt very uncomfortable, whereas he usually would've been right at home charming a lovely young lady like Ayanokoji. But he suddenly started to think that maybe some of these lovely young ladies weren't as lovely on the inside as they were on the outside.

**3_3_3_3_3**

"Kelsa-chan, are you okay?" Honey asked, looking up at me.

I smiled. "Of course I am," I said.

"But you're not eating your cake. Everyone loves cake!"

I laughed a little.

"Hard to argue with that," Sarah said.

I took a bite of the chocolate cake in front of me, and Honey giggled and turned back to his own slice of strawberry cake.

I tried not to look at Tamaki, tried not to think about him romancing a bunch of other girls over in his section. It's all fake, I kept thinking. They just romance girls and then move on to the next group.

I also tried to ignore the fact that he was with a third-year, Ayanokoji. It just made my self-esteem hit rock-bottom. She was two years older and ten times as beautiful as me.

Like I'd have a chance with him, I thought, with girls like that around. I mean, not that I _want_ a chance with him! I-I'm just saying...! Oy…

I saw Tamaki look at me before we left. Usually I can read people, but, for once, I couldn't. Why was he looking at me like that?

We were half-way back to our lockers, when I realized that I didn't have my bag. I must've left it in the Club room, I thought. Oblivious me, taking this long to notice it...

I told Peggy and Sarah to go on ahead, and that I'd be along in a moment. They were reluctant at first, but I convinced them to go.

The music room was empty when I went back, and I searched under all the tables for my bag. It wasn't there. I stood next to the windows and sighed. Dumb bag, I thought. Why'd you have to go and get...lost?

I looked out a window and saw the fountain that I walked by every day. (It was more like a pond than a fountain, but anyway...)

Hey, I thought, leaning closer to the window. What's my bag doing in the...fountain?

I ran out of the room, heading for the stairs. As I ran down a hallway, passing some large windows, I saw a familiar girl. I ran past her, but slowed when she spoke.

"Oh, it's you again."

I didn't look at Ayanokoji. And I didn't reply. She had never spoken to me before. Why was she now?

"I bet you just love all the attention Tamaki's giving you, and how he's fawning over you the way he is."

I glanced at her out of the corner of my eye. Since when was he fawning over me? I wondered.

"You know he's only doing this becuase he thinks you're a novelty. It's useless. No matter what, you're always going to be second-class citizen."

Even the sound of her uniform shoes tapping on the marble tile flooring seemed evil.

Why...me? I wondered. Am I really a...novelty?

I shook away my thoughts, and ran downstairs and out to the fountain.

"Great," I said to myself, looking at the pond water. "How am I supposed to get my stuff out of there when I'm in my uniform?" Stupid uniform, I added in my head. Just as stupid as you, bag, for not shouting for help when Ayanokoji grabbed you! Great, now I'm thinking at inanimate objects and clothes-

"Princess?"

I spun around to see Tamaki standing behind me, and I quickly clasped my hands behind my back.

"Could I be of assisstance?" he asked.

"Um...only if you don't call me princess."

He smiled. "Whatever you wish...Kelsey."

Stop blushing! I screamed in my head.

I stood aside as he rolled up his sleeves, took off his shoes, and rolled up his pant legs. "Thank you, senpai," I said.

He smiled as he started pulling my things up out of the water. "It's no trouble at all."

"I just...feel like I'm putting you out," I said. "I mean, you're dripping wet."

"Well, people do always say I'm dripping with good looks," he said quietly, as if to himself.

I laughed softly. I stopped short when Ayanokoji's words came back to me, but Tamaki didn't seem to notice my cut-off laugh.

He set all my things out on the walkway in the sun, then sat down on the edge of the fountain to put his shoes back on. I looked at him for a few moments, still amazed that he had gotten my things out of the water for me after only having known me for two days.

Back at our old school, I'd been bullied some. No one ever stood up for me there, but instead just stood by and let it happen. Years after a random incident, I would find out that a lot of people were angry that that person had done whatever they had done. But what was their excuse for not helping me, or trying to stop what was going on?

_"I didn't know you that well."_

I often likened it to this scenario: What would you do if you saw a person you didn't know, had never spoken to in your life, laying on the sidewalk, bleeding profusely? Would you stop and help, call 911, give comfort? Or would you just step right over them, consoling your conscience with the thought, "Well, I'm no friend of theirs. It's not my problem. It's not even any of my business."

I know that being bullied and bleeding to death are two very different things, but that's how it felt when I'd heard the students say that that was why they hadn't helped me.

And now I was here at Ouran, and, on the second day he'd known me, Tamaki was fishing around in a pond for my things for me. So why is he helping me, I wondered, when he doesn't know me all that well? I mean, I know I'm the kind of person who will stop and help anyone who needs it (at least, I like to think I am). Is he that same kind of person?

Or is he just "fawning" over me, like Ayanokoji said? Does he think I'm something interesting to look at, like a museum exhibit? "And on your left, you see the average commoner girl"? Is it like that?

Or is Ayanokoji wrong? Is he just the sort of person that wants to do good by everyone? I'd like to think that he is. Then again, I usually give people the benefit of the doubt...

Tamaki looked up at me while I was thinking, and I struggled to keep the switch to my brain in the "on" position. "What's the matter?" he asked. "You're staring off into space." He grinned. "You're not falling for me, are you?" he asked teasingly.

"What? No! I mean, uh..." I said, blushing like mad. I took a deep breath. "I'm just very grateful for your help. Really, thank you so much, senpai."

"You're welcome, Kelsey," he said. "You know, I thought you looked a little down today. Is everything alright?"

"Yes," I said automatically. I wasn't even sure what I was feeling, so how was I supposed to tell him? Plus he'd just asked if I was falling for him. What kind of question is that? I thought.

He stood and smiled at me. Snap, he's tall, I thought. He's got to be at least six feet tall.

"Kelsey, I wanted to say something to you."

Oy, I thought.

"If it's alright with you, I would like us to be friends."

Friends? I asked myself, blinking in slight surprise. I guess that would be okay... "Sure," I said.

He smiled wider. "Yay! I have a new friend!" Then he hugged me!

"Um, senpai...?"

"Kelsey is my new friend!" Then he started jumping around saying "my friend" in a bunch of different languages, along with my name.

Well, seems like I made his day, I thought.

"Hey, boss."

Tamaki and I both jumped. How did the twins manage to sneak up on everyone like that?

They looked at me, then at Tamaki. "We need to talk to you..." "...about...you know."

"Okay!" Tamaki said, laughing. He ran (more like bounded) off after them. "See you later, new friend!"

I just stood there with my mouth slightly open. Uh, I thought, what just happened?

**;;;;;**

I went home right after that and told Sarah all about it. She looked as confused as I felt. So, to spread the confusion around, we called Peggy and told her about it. The more the merrier, we always say.

"So...you're Tamaki-senpai's...'new friend'?" Peggy asked.

"That's what he said, anyway," I said.

Peggy whistled. "Wow."

"That's just about the only thing I was thinking," Sarah said.

I nodded in agreement.

Sarah put a spoonful of ice cream in her mouth, then pointed her spoon at me as she swallowed. "Does that mean we're all friends? Like, us with the Host Club?"

I shrugged. "Search me. I'm just a simple city girl from London."

Peggy rolled her eyes and Sarah and I smiled.

"And you still don't know who threw your bag in the pond?" Peggy asked.

"Nope," I said, automatically feeling guilty for sort of lying to my best friends. But I wasn't even sure that Ayanokoji was linked in any way. Maybe she'd just decided to approach me out of the blue, and she didn't even know my bag was in the pond. "I think maybe Hikaru and Kaoru know something, though... I'm not sure."

"Maybe we'll find out at school tomorrow," Sarah said.

I nodded. "Yeah, maybe."

"Well, anyway, we've got to look on the bright side," Sarah said.

"What's that?" I asked.

"That you're Tamaki-senpai's friend!"

"And...that's good because...? You're my best friends. Who else do I need?"

They smiled.

"We're just saying it's not illegal to have more friends besides your best friends," Sarah said.

"And I think, deep down, all the members of the Host Club are good guys, not guys with some ulterior motives," Peggy said. "Like _you_ seem to think, Kels."

Maybe, I thought. Maybe.

**3_3_3_3_3**

Tamaki laughed.

"What's..." "...so funny?" Hikaru and Kaoru asked.

"I beat you two to being her friend! Ah-ha!"

The twins looked at each other, then back at Tamaki. "But you forget, boss... She'll only see you at the Host Club. We see her in class every day."

It was as if Tamaki had already forgotten this information, and he zoomed to the nearest tree to sulk.

The twins sighed. "Boss, we're here..." "...to report on that mission Kyoya-senpai sent us on."

Tamaki immediately snapped out of it. He walked back over to the twins. "What did you find out?"

Tamaki's eyes widened slightly when he heard what they had to say. But he had to admit, he wasn't totally surprised.

"We'll deal with this tomorrow, gentlemen," he said. "For now, let's keep this under wraps."

"Right," they said together.

No, Tamaki thought, I'm actually not surprised at all.


	5. Banned

**Omigosh T.T I am so sorry for this late update, you wonderful reviewers and readers! Gah, I shall get better about this, I PROMISE!**

**EmiShae: AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH! You're reading this! OMIGOSH I AM SO FLIPPIN HAPPPPYYY! :D *tackle-glomp* Ah, I should be groveling at YOUR feet for forgiveness! *grovels with you* XD Ha, I know, right? I'd repeat high school all over again if I got to go to Ouran! *dreamy sigh...* Oh good! I'm glad it's different! haha Yes, the Kyoya moments! ;D Never fear, there are plenty of them! XD Yes! Other languages FTW! haha *taking Japanese, took French... Aspiring to be like her braniac OC* XD Aw, thank you so much, my dear! The nickname idea came from a favorite show of mine -**_**Grey's Anatomy**_**. One character, Izzie, got the nickname Cricket from her mother, and I just loved it so much, and I'd been wanting to use it, so I used it on my British characters! xD YAY! I'm glad you liked the "We're not in London anymore" line! I felt quite clever writing it, even though it really wasn't XD Yayyyy! I ish happeh! :D (Oh, and, in answer to your question, as far as I know, no Haruhi won't be in this. *is working on sequel already O.o* xD) Love youuu! :D**

**Soul'sgirl14: Thank you so much! ^.^ How's the planning going for your **_**Soul Eater**_** story? If I think up anything, I'll let you know! Or if you wanna run some ideas by me, feel free to message me! Hope it's going well :D Thanks for reading! ^.^**

**Okay, okay, so I have to apologize again because this chapter is SO SHORT T.T But I promise I shall update again soon -and the chapter WILL be longer! Thank you all so much! *bows* Happy reading!**

**-V. Banned-**

Before we went to the Host Club the next day, I made sure to put my bag in my locker. No one's stealing that again, I thought. Unless they break into my locker... Okay, now I'm just getting paranoid.

Right when we walked into Music Room 3, Hikaru and Kaoru pulled us aside.

"Did you hear anything..." "...about who stole your bag?" they asked me.

I shook my head.

They nodded for us to follow them.

We shrugged and followed. What were they going to show us? Had they found something out?

They led us over to Tamaki, who was sitting with Ayanokoji. I could hardly look at her. I felt like, if I did, she'd kill me with one glare. In retrospect, I probably just should've shoved Sarah over there and had her Bennet Look Ayanokoji to death. It probably would've worked. Who knows?

I glanced around and suddenly realized that the entire Host Club was standing around Peggy, Sarah, and I.

O-kay... I thought.

"What's going on?" Ayanokoji asked.

Took the words right out of my head, I thought.

"I think you know very well what's going on," Kyoya said, adjusting his glasses.

"Uh, no I-"

"You must think we're dumber than we seem."

"What are you-?"

"Did you really think we wouldn't figure it out?" Kyoya pulled a stack of photos out of his blazer pocket and held them out for us all to see. They depicted Ayanokoji stealing my bag from under the table in the music room, and throwing it into the pond outside the building.

"You're the one that threw Kelsey's bag in the fountain," Kyoya continued, "aren't you? You should know that Ouran Academy does not tolerate bullying."

Ayanokoji looked up at him angrily.

I have to say, I wasn't all that surprised that she was the culprit. But I _was_ surprised that the hosts had found out so quickly. They must have some crazy good sources, I thought. Either that or I'm just being blonde. Or they have spies. Or something.

"And I think you know about my family's secret police and the authority it has over this school."

And I was _very_ surprised by that comment of Kyoya's!

"Ayanokoji, I'm very disappointed. It turns out that you just aren't classy enough to be our guest, my dear," Tamaki said, standing. "I must ask you to leave the Ouran Host Club."

"Yeah, you meanie!" Honey chimed in, sticking his tongue out at her.

Ayanokoji glared at all of them, then at me. "Why is _she_ so important?" she cried, pointing an accussatory finger at me.

I resisted the instinct to flinch away from her.

"She's just a commoner!"

"Who shows..." "...that beauty is more than skin deep," Hikaru and Kaoru said.

I looked at them. What did they mean by that? I wondered. And, honestly, I never though I'd hear _any_ of the hosts say _anything_ like that, even after the few days I'd been there.

"More than that," Tamaki said, "she's our friend."

"And she's our _best_ friend," Peggy said, stepping forward.

"I think you're jealous of her beacause she's Tamaki-senpai's friend, and he wasn't paying as much attention to you," Sarah said.

Ayanokoji started stuttering in protest.

"I see more than you think," Sarah added, smirking in that way she had. (See? The Bennet Look... Or one of them, at least.)

"As do we all," Kyoya said.

"You mess with her again, and I'll mess with your face!" Sarah and I grabbed Peggy and held her back as she made a grab for Ayanokoji.

After Ayanokoji ran off, in tears and yelling "Tamaki, you're an idiot!" (Psh! What a drama queen!), I looked around at everyone. "Okay, really, was that necessary? I mean, she just threw my bag in the fountain. She didn't beat me up or anything..."

They all looked at me, then laughed.

I smiled a little and shook my head.

"You're our friend, Kelsey," Tamaki said, smiling.

I blushed a little, and smiled back.

Kyoya was, yet again, scratching something into his notebook.

"Kyoya-senpai?" I asked. "Does your family really have a...secret police force?"

He chuckled. "Yes, we do," he said.

Oy, I thought. We have a lot to learn about these people.

"Senpai, thank you," I said to Tamaki. "Thank you all. Nothing like that's really ever happened to me before, so I've never had to to have my friends react to it."

Not quite a lie, really.

"Because they had..." "...Peggy and Sarah to answer to?" the twins asked.

Peggy laughed, but I saw her blush a little.

"Got that right!" Sarah said.

"Does this mean...we're _all_ friends now?" Tamaki asked excitedly.

He reminds me of something, I thought. But what?

"Like one big, happy family?"

"I've got it," I said, snapping my fingers.

He looked at me.

"You're like a puppy," I said, pointing at him.

He whimpered, then fled to the nearest corner.

I ran my hand through my hair. "What'd I say?" I asked.

"Don't take it personally," Hikaru said.

"The boss is just sensitive," Kaoru said.

"Sensitive...about being likened to a puppy?" Sarah asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Tama-chan's just like that," Honey said.

Yes, I thought as I watched the twins annoy Tamaki out of his corner. Lots to learn.

**3_3_3_3_3**

"She thinks I'm like a puppy! And they all agree!" Tamaki wailed later that day to the other hosts.

"And...this is bad...?" Kyoya asked.

"Yes!" Tamaki said. "How can you not see how bad this is? !"

"Maybe because..." "...Kyoya-senpai's smarter than that?" the twins tried.

Tamaki glared at them and they grinned.

"Kelsa-chan's all our friend now, Tama-chan. And Peggy-chan and Sarah-chan, too," Honey said.

"Mm-hmm," Mori said, nodding.

"Is your friend thinking you're like a puppy really so bad?" Honey continued.

"Yes!" Tamaki cried. "This is terrible...!"

Honey just sighed and went back to playing with Usa-chan.

"They probably think..." "...we're all like some kind of animal," the twins said.

"Oh, yeah?" Tamaki asked. "Well, what animal would they say Kyoya was?"

They all looked at Kyoya, who pretended not to notice. There were several long moments of silence as they thought this over.

"An owl," Honey said.

Kyoya chuckled, shaking his head. "And you, Honey-senpai?" he asked. If the comment about being like an owl offended him, he didn't show it.

Now all eyes were on Honey. He clutched Usa-chan to his chest and looked at them worriedly.

"A pomeranian," Hikaru said.

"A really fluffly one," Kaoru added.

Honey thought for a moment, then giggled. "Those are cute!" he said happily.

"And Mori-senpai would be..." "...a husky."

Mori glanced at them, cracking a small smile. (A rare sight for the Host Club.)

"Well, I think you, Hikaru and Kaoru, would be...two Siamese cats," Tamaki said.

The twins grinned, and it was almost as if tails could be seen swishing around behind their backs.

A silence fell over the Host Club members. Kyoya even stopped writing in his book. Three days, and already these new members had shaken things up.

And now all the hosts were wondering the same thing: Where will things go from here?

**XD Yeah...the animal thing... I came up with them myself except for Honey's and Mori's. Those I took from their profiles in the manga, so they belong to Bisco Hatori xD I happened to remember that part of their profiles, and thought it would be funny for Tamaki to spaz about being likened to a puppy instead of being called obnoxious. I don't think I'd have the heart to tell anyone (most likely _not_ Tamaki) they were obnoxious to their face. XD**

**Anywhoo, hope you enjoyed the chapter! Sorry it was short! More coming soon ^.^**


	6. Hosting a Party

**Okay, just say it. I fail. *falls to ground* I'm so sorry that it's been so long since I last updated! ...I really have no excuse with this story since this one's finished. *mumbles* I'm sorry! Thank you all for your wonderful reviews and support, though! It makes me so happy, and keeps me motivated :)**

**Well, school is out, and it's onto summer jobs. It's been very slow here so far, so I'm taking this time to update some stories. First some review replies, then you can get on to reading! Enjoy!**

**Grell Waldo: Thank you for your reviews! :D They made me so happy ^.^ Hmm, a poison dart frog, you say? Interesting... I took Honey's and Mori's animal likenesses from the manga itself, soyeah, that's what the mangaka thought they'd be haha Thank you again! I hope you like this chapter! :D**

**EMI: I love you, seriously XD Thank you so much! D'aww, thanks *blush* bahaha I just updated WSI, so go read and tell me what you think! :D I'm so glad you like this story, too! Yaaaay! ttfn, my dear!**

**Thank you to everyone who's reading, too. Thank you, thank you :)**

**Now, on with the story!**

**-VI. Hosting a Party-**

Early spring at Ouran was a sight indeed. There was still that slight chill in the air, and the cherry blossoms were just starting to bud. That was one of the many things I loved about Japan: Cherry blossoms everywhere. I thought they were so much prettier than the little flowers people planted in boxes outside their stores in London—not that there was anything wrong with those either. I just couldn't wait until the cherry blossoms bloomed.

By that point, we'd sort of made it routine to go to the Host Club and visit the hosts. I kept telling myself that I just went because I wanted to have more friends, but, looking back on it, I think I had other reasons.

We opened the door one afternoon, and almost fell over in surprise at what was on the other side of the door.

"How'd we wind up in the tropics?" I wondered aloud.

The whole room had been redecorated, complete with palm trees and tropical birds and flowers. And it was about eighty degrees in there!

What. On. Earth? I asked myself. These guys are crazier than I thought!

My head bowed slightly when a toucan landed on it. Why me? I thought. Pigeons liked me back in London, too. Just so long as they don't poop or lay eggs on me, I'm just fine. I gently shooed the toucan away while Sarah and Peggy tried not to laugh at me.

"Welcome, friends!" Tamaki said happily. After I registered that Tamaki was not wearing his uniform, I realized that he was wearing a half-shirt robe kind of thing, so his chest wasn't completely covered by the shirt, whereas the rest of the hosts were basically shirtless, but I digress.

"Why does it look like the rain forest in here?" I asked. I looked at Sarah. She was looking at Peggy. I looked at Peggy. Her eyes were fixed on the boys (probably because of the state of shirtless-ness I mentioned before). I rolled my eyes. "According to what I know, it's still early spring."

I glanced at a chameleon, who was eyeing me curiously. Sarah walked over and stared at it, thinking that she could stare anything down. Let's just say that the chameleon won.

"Huddling under a kotatsu table, fearing the cold, is nonsense!" Tamaki said, moving his arms about dramatically. "And, besides, the heating system we have is...the best!"

Certainly one for drama, isn't he? I thought. And I can tell the heating system's good by how warm it just got in here. I blushed a little at how that comment could have been taken, had I said it out loud.

"Gentlemen don't bundle up in bulky clothing," Tamaki continued dramatically. "It may be chilly early spring out there in the real world, but here in the Club, we want to surprise our chilly little kittens with a warm tropical paradise."

I trailed my eyes back and forth behind Tamaki as he spoke, watching Mori run Honey around on his shoulders, Honey laughing gleefully.

Suddenly, I felt an arm around my shoulder, and looked up at Tamaki. "Ah, yes, we have turned this place into...Nirvana! A balmy tropical island of everlasting summer! !"

Definitely got the "balmy" part right, I thought as I saw the same chameleon from before devour a butterfly. A shiver went up my spine. "Funny, I'm suddenly feeling a massive chill."

In the few weeks we'd been there, my cousin Sarah, my best friend Peggy, and I had started to feel a little more comfortable at the "prestigious Ouran Academy." The place really _was_ like a palace. A clock tower; tall spires on the roofs; grand, marble staircases; the whole shebang. It was all so magnificent—much more stately than we were used to. ...We still hated the uniforms, but what can you do?

As for the Host Club, I'll let you know how Tamaki describes it.

"Only those with excellent social standing and those from filthy rich families are lucky enough to spend their time here at the elite private school, Ouran Academy. The Ouran Host Club is where the school's handsomest boys with too much time on their hands entertain young ladies who also have way too much time on their hands. Just think of it as Ouran's elegant playground for the super rich and beautiful."

Can you say, "egotistical"?

"What heartlessness... Even with my lustrous skin, shining like ivory, exposed by my Balinese king outfit, I am no more than a slave before my goddess. I kneel before you and swear my loyalty." Tamaki was leaned in so close to the girl, his hand under her chin, that I thought for a moment he would kiss her. But that wasn't how the Club worked, apparently.

"Oh, Tamaki..." the girl swooned.

"Lucky..." the other girls at his table said to their friend. I could practically see the hearts in their eyes as I made my usual rounds around the Club.

Since we were "friends" with the hosts, we agreed to help out around the Club. It was mostly things like making tea and refilling cups, but I didn't mind. Back in London, I'd worked for a short time in a cafe, so it wasn't exactly new to me. ...I wasn't too sure how Sarah felt about it, since her idea of a job was one where she didn't have to associate with people, but Peggy seemed to like it well enough, as did I.

"Oh, yes," Tamaki said. "I almost forgot to mention to you ladies."

My ears perked up at that. What was he going to tell them?

"Next week, the Ouran Host Club is sponsoring a party."

A party, huh? I thought.

"What kind of party is it going to be?" Peggy asked from her place between two other girls at the twins', Hikaru and Kaoru's, table. "Is it going to be formal?"

"Yes," Hikaru said. "In fact, we've rented the school's largest hall."

"It's the perfect for dancing," Kaoru said.

Hikaru suddenly leaned in close to Kaoru, putting his hand under his chin. "But I really wanted to spend some alone time with you...Kaoru."

"Don't be upset, Hikaru," Kaoru said. "I know exactly how you feel."

The girls squealed and I felt like I was going to be sick. I don't care if it _is_ an act, I thought. I still don't like it.

"Have they no shame?" Sarah whispered.

"It would seem not," I replied.

We shrugged at each other, and continued around the room.

"Seems like the guests are even more worked up than usual," I said to myself as I walked back over to the "bar" (which contained no alcohol whatsoever).

"Showing some skin proves popular with the ladies," Kyoya said.

Well, I _thought_ I'd been talking to myself.

Kyoya was still writing in that little legal pad of his. Gosh, did he write everything down so he could write a memoir after he took over the world?

"So was this whole thing your idea?" I asked.

"I have no decision-making authority," Kyoya said. "All of the Club's policies have been laid out by the king, Tamaki. But," he said, smiling and pushing up his glasses, "I guess there's no harm in admitting to casually slipping a Bali photobook onto his desk."

So he's the real brains behind the operation, I thought as I refilled the water pitcher I'd been carrying around.

"Ta-da!" Honey sang, showing off his red flower lei.

"Awww! You're so cute!" the girls gushed.

"See these flowers?" Honey asked excitedly. "They're from Bali! We had them flown in!"

Mori was walking by then, carrying a pineapple (of all things).

"Ah, he makes fruit look so hot," Sarah said.

I raised my eyebrow and looked at her. "And you say the twins have no shame?"

"What?" she asked, picking up her pitcher again. "It's not like I'm saying that _to_ him. I _do_ have scruples, y'know."

I rolled my eyes as she walked away.

"Takashi!" Honey gasped. He ran over and climbed up to Mori's shoulder, throwing a lei around his neck. "There! Now we match!" Honey giggled.

The girls squealed some more about how cute Honey was.

"Kelsey, there you are!"

I was going to ask Tamaki why he'd been looking for me, but he just kept on talking, leaving no room for a response.

"I've been meaning to ask you! Since you and Sarah and Peggy are helping out with the Club now, we thought we'd ask you if you'd like to cosplay with us! We have one all picked out for you for today! In fact, you and I are a pair!"

I felt myself blushing like mad, and Sarah walked by and grinned at me. What timing that girl has, I thought. "Um, I think I'll pass," I said. "I think I'd feel a little out of place wearing non-early-spring attire in early spring." Even I wondered at what kind of excuse that was supposed to be.

"Wow, you're really faithful to the different seasons, Kelsey," one of the girls sitting nearby said.

But...the guests seemed to be buying it.

Now, I'm not saying that I was popular (which would've been a better description of Sarah's or Peggy's status), but I was known around the Club. It fairly normal for a few guests to take to me every day (whereas they practically attacked Peggy and Sarah), and I liked that.

"Do you think the cherry blossoms'll be in full bloom on the night of the party?" another girl asked.

"I hope so!" I said excitedly. "I've never seen them in real life before! Just pictures! I think it'll be the greatest thing ever!"

**3_3_3_3_3**

Kyoya glanced up from his writing long enough to see Tamaki staring at Kelsey, blushing slightly. "Why are you staring at her?" he asked. His tone would tell that he really didn't care, and that he was just asking to gain information. Which was usually Kyoya's motive for the things he did.

"I am not!" Tamaki snapped, spinning to face Kyoya.

"Has anyone ever told you that you're a terrible liar?"

Tamaki sighed. "It's just..." he said, walking closer to Kyoya. "It's her accent. It's so darn cute! And her excitement about the cherry blossoms!"

"So why don't you tell her that?"

"You're crazy," he said. "But why do you think I think that about her?"

"Why do you think what you think about anyone?"

Tamaki looked thoroughly confused and Kyoya chuckled.

"Just try to sort this out, Tamaki. There's enough confusion going on in your head as it is without a girl in the picture."

**3_3_3_3_3**

"I think cosplaying with the Club would be fun," Peggy said, finally tearing herself away from the twins to talk to us. Honestly, I couldn't see what she saw in their little facade. But it made her happy, so...

"Maybe," I said. "But maybe not as a Balinese...whatever, you know?"

"I agree," Sarah said. "With both of you. I think we should just see where this goes. I mean, if they cosplay as something really out-there, you can count me out."

"Me, too," I said. Then I thought for a moment. "Well, unless it's really cool."

The three of us laughed, then laughed a little harder at the looks we got for speaking English.

I saw a second-year girl walk past us, over to Kyoya. "It's about time for your next request, isn't it?" she asked.

"Yes, of course," Kyoya said, smiling.

The girl giggled, blushing a little. "I think I'll make you my new favorite," she said, giggling some more.

Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Tamaki start and stare at the girl. What's up with him? I wondered.

**;;;;;**

Later, after all the guests had left, Tamaki sat at a table on the far side of the room, sulkily eating Ramen (which had become his new favorite food, of late, for some reason or another). He slurped in the noodles just like I did with spaghetti, and muttered to himself. "I can't take this anymore..."

"Hey, boss," Hikaru called from where we were standing around another table. (Well, the guys were standing, we were sitting. Anyway.) "Why don't you stop eating that commoner's Ramen and come over here to help us with the party planning?"

"Does it really bother you that Princess Kasuga has taken a liking to Kyoya-senpai?" Kaoru asked.

"He shouldn't be surprised," Kyoya said, typing away on his laptop. "She's had the illness for a while now, hasn't she?"

"Um...illness?" I asked.

"She's got the host-hopping disease," Hikaru said.

"A.K.A., the 'Never the same boy twice' disease," Kaoru elaborated.

"Usually, our customers choose a favorite host and then see them regularly," Kyoya explained. "However, Princess Kanako tends to change her favorites on a regular basis."

"That's right!" Honey said. "And before she chose Kyo-chan, Tama-chan was her favorite!"

"Oh," Peggy said. "So he's upset because you took her from him, Kyoya-senpai?"

"Shut up!" Tamaki shouted, jumping up and running over. "I couldn't care less."

Peggy blinked at him, looking quite bored. "De-nial," she sang.

He sighed and stepped back. "I'm running out of patience!" He dragged a big box out (seemingly from nowhere), the words "KING'S PRIVATE PROPERTY" written on the side. He pulled out a giant frame and pointed to the picture inside. "I couldn't care less that _this_ is now gone!" It was big romantic picture of him and Kanako, their arms around each other. ...And they looked like they were standing in the middle of the field of flowers. Random.

"Dude, Peggy's right," I said.

"Dude, you're right," Sarah said to me.

Tamaki cried out. "AHH! Girls should never refer to themselves as 'dudes'!"

"Dude, everyone says that in England," Peggy said.

Tamaki wailed, looking at the picture. "Mama! How could you steal my customer? And the girls are using dirty boy words!"

I rolled my eyes, and then my eyebrow raised as I realized what Tamaki had said.

"I'm sorry," Hikaru said, looking at Kyoya, "but who is 'Mama'?"

"Based on Club position," Kyoya said as Tamaki slinked to the floor and cried, "I assume it's me."

Weird, I sang in my head. I sighed.

"Look, I don't see what you're crying about," Sarah said. "Working as a Host, it's all your jobs, including Kyoya-senpai's to entertain the guests. Who cares if one switches around a lot? Back in England, it's kinda similar to this thing called dating."

"Yeah," I said. "You gotta try a few people on before you find a good fit."

"Girls should not know anything about this until they're married!" Tamaki cried. "You should know nothing of 'trying people on'!"

"How the heck are you supposed to get married if you don't?" Peggy asked.

"AHHHH!" Tamaki screamed.

I sighed and shook my head. What a drama king.

Sarah stood up and went over to Tamaki, grabbing him by the shoulders and shaking him. "Get ahold of yourself, man! Snap out of it!"

"Take it easy, Sarah!" Peggy said as she and I stood.

"Yeah, don't kill him!" I said.

She released him and looked down at him. "It's okay," she said, looking back up at us and smiling. "He's unconscious!"

"Oh, good grief," I said, facepalming.

"And he's bleeding, too!" Peggy said. "Geez, Sarah! What'd you do to him? !"

"It's not blood!" she said defensively. "It's paint!"

"Well, where'd the paint come from?" I asked, putting my hands on my hips.

She shifted her eyes from side to side, a sure sign of her thinking (possibly of a convincing lie), "Well..."

"Hate to change the subject," Hikaru said, rolling his eyes, "but do any of you girls have formal dancing experience?"

"It's all formal dance at the party," Kaoru said.

Sarah and Peggy looked at me, and pretty much everyone else (except Tamaki, who was still unconscious) did, too.

"What're you all looking at me for?" I asked. "And, really, I don't think I'll be going."

Now even Tamaki was looking at me, as if this statement had woken him up.

"What? I'm not really big on events like this."

"Is it because you don't know how to dance?"

I yelped a little at Tamaki's sudden consciousness (not to mention appearance at my side).

Peggy giggled. "Are you kidding?"

I shook my head at her, waving my hands to try to get her to stop.

Sarah sighed, realizing that the hosts didn't get it.

I shot Peggy a look.

Peggy grinned. "Kels was the best dancer back at our school in London," she said.

I facepalmed again.

"All the guys _always_ wanted to dance with her!"

"They did not," I said.

Peggy started naming dances off that I could do. (I didn't say I could do them well.) "She can waltz, swing, cha-cha, merengue, foxtrot, break dance..."

I burst out laughing. "Okay, that last one's not true," I said.

She smiled. "I know. I just wanted to get you to smile."

"Seems you're quite the dancing aficionado," Tamaki said, smiling. "We would be honored if you taught us."

"But, Tama-chan," Honey said. "We all already know—"

Tamaki pushed a forkful of cake into Honey's mouth, stopping any further discussion. Tamaki chuckled. "Would you, Kelsey? We'll stop Host Club meetings for the next week, and we'll work here after school."

I thought about that for a few moments. Teaching the host club how to dance? Hmm...

"I know we'll all be perfect after you've taught us!"

Just like a puppy, I thought. I smiled. "Okay. I will, Senpai."

"Hooray!" he cheered. He ran over to Kyoya. "Mama! Guess what? ! Kelsey just agreed to teach us how to dance! Isn't that wonderful?"

"Tamaki, get off of me. And stop calling me Mama. Why do you insist on referring to us like we're a married couple?"

Tamaki ignored the question and ran back over to us. "Thank you, Kelsey! You're such a good friend!" He hugged me, and I froze. Certainly not shy about showing affection, is he? I thought.

**;;;;;**

"So you're teaching some boys to dance?" Mum asked after we got home that day.

"Well, Kelsey is," Sarah said. "She's teaching our new friends."

"That should be interesting," Mum said, setting mugs of hot chocolate in front of us. "What is this dancing for?"

"This party at the school next week," I said.

"Oh, is that like a dance?"

I didn't like that look in her eyes. Sarah and I looked at each other, then back at her. "Yes..." Sarah said carefully. "Why?"

"Oh, your first dance! We'll have to find dresses for you girls and Peggy!" She jumped up and went for the phone, dialing Peggy's home number as fast as she possibly could.

"You're just like Tamaki," I said quietly, looking down into my hot chocolate.

Sarah laughed softly.

"What was that, dear? Miranda? Goodness, did you hear?"

I tuned out her excited conversation with Peggy's mum, and continued looking into my hot chocolate. I could still feel Tamaki's arms around me, hugging me. I could still feel the butterflies his smile put into my stomach. I could hear him yelling at the twins for doing whatever they had done wrong that time. I even laughed a little at the thought of his "corner of woe," and how quickly he could come out of it.

He's really something, I thought.

"What's so funny?" Sarah asked, snapping me out of my thoughts.

"Oh, nothing," I said. "Nothing at all."

**3_3_3_3_3**

"Tamaki, enlighten me."

Tamaki turned to Kyoya.

"If we all already know how to dance, then why did you ask Kelsey to teach us?"

Tamaki laughed softly. "And I thought you knew everything, Kyoya."

"Well, I do," Kyoya said. "But tell me anyway."

Tamaki shrugged. "I get the feeling that she just needs something to occupy her time."

"Isn't that..." "...what her schoolwork is for?" Hikaru and Kaoru asked.

"I mean something to take her mind off of school," Tamaki said.

The rest of the Club looked at each other and shrugged. _Tamaki will be Tamaki_ was the general consensus of the situation.

I guess I just want her to feel like she's important to us, Tamaki thought, looking out one of the many windows in the music room. That she matters to us beyond just her coming to the Host Club every day. I get the feeling Peggy and Sarah think the same thing about her. I also get the feeling that there's something in her past that she's keeping hidden, something that only her and her best friends know.

I'd like to know, Tamaki continued in his head. I'd like to be close enough to her that she would confide in me. I'd like her to feel like she can come to the Host Club not only for entertainment, but for solace and comfort. She always seems so positive. He laughed soflty to himself. But I know all too well that no amount of optimistim can change your past. It certainly hasn't changed mine.


End file.
